


Top of The World

by can_i_get_a_hell_yeah, Mars_and_Moon



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Nico Is Bad At Feelings, Percy Jackson Secret Santa 2017, Will likes to climb trees, will is a dork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 04:57:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13206447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/can_i_get_a_hell_yeah/pseuds/can_i_get_a_hell_yeah, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mars_and_Moon/pseuds/Mars_and_Moon
Summary: Nico di Angelo did not have a crush on Will Solace.He just agreed to climb a tree with Will to get everyone off his back about 'making friends' and 'going outside'.





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> for the pjo secret santa 2k17

Nico di Angelo did not have a crush on Will Solace.

 

He just agreed to climb a tree with Will to get everyone off his back about 'making friends' and 'going outside'.

****

Which was probably a bad idea, since he had no idea why he was going to climb a tree, or how to actually climb a tree.

 

It's not like it would be hard to climb a tree. Simple, really, just grab handholds and pull yourself up. Right?

****

"Keep up, death boy," Will teased, looking down at Nico, who was struggling to figure out how to climb the tree. Nothing seemed solid and the branches kept moving whenever he tried to steady himself.

****

"I wasn't built to climb trees, Solace," Nico responded. His foot slipped and he panicked for a second before managing to wedge it against the trunk of the tree.

****

"Well, if you keep the pace you're going at, you'll miss the show."

****

"I could get to the top faster than you," Nico pointed out.

****

"Shadow traveling in all shapes and forms is banned. Doctor's orders," Will retorted, but when Nico looked up at him, he was smiling, eyes shining.

****

"Last I checked, you aren't a licensed medical professional," Nico shot back, while trying not to lose his balance.

****

"Don't die, death boy," Will said, and Nico could hear the smirk in his voice.

****

"Why? Would you miss me, Solace?"

****

"Yeah, Nico, I would."

****

Will sounded...vulnerable?

****

_Nico_. It wasn't the most out of the blue thing in the world for Will to call him Nico, but it wasn't exactly a common occurrence either. He mostly called him death boy or di Angelo.

****

"This branch looks perfect!" Will exclaimed after a few more minutes filled with him laughing at Nico's attempts to climb the tree.

****

"Perfect for what?" Nico asked, still having no clue as to why they were even in a tree. He sat down next to Will, a bit out of breath, clinging to the branch like his life depended on it. Which, he guessed, it kind of did.

****

"Fireworks," Will answered. He casually wrapped an arm around Nico's shoulders, steadying him, and Nico swallowed an undignified yelp.

****

"What do you mean, 'fireworks'?"

****

"The fireworks show! Hurry up, it's starting in a minute."

****

Nico's palms were not sweaty, his heart was not fluttery, and his face was most certainly not heating up at thought of sitting extremely close to Will for the better part of the next hour, with Will's arm around him, their legs touching.

****

Because Nico did not have a crush on Will.

****

\---

****

Nico swore to the gods he was going to punch Will Solace in the face, or at the very least glare at him until he got the message.

****

It had only been ten days since Nico had seen Will last and Will apparently thought he could just walk into camp with his accent strong, wearing a cowboy hat. The nerve of this guy, whom Nico did not have a crush on. Girls and other boys were swooning left and right.

****

Nico needed to decide quickly which one it would be because Will and his ridiculous hat were walking over to him, an easy smile on his face.

****

"Nico! How've you been?"

****

Nico decided to glare. "It's been ten days, Solace, I hardly think much has changed in ten days."

****

Will put his hands up as if he was surrendering. "Woah there partner, I'm allowed to check in on my friends."

****

On second thought, Nico was going to punch him and the stupidly perfect smile on his face.

****

"I missed you while I was in Texas."  Will's ' eye's were bright, the blue more vivid against his tan.

****

Nico's heart was not pounding against his ribcage. Definitely not.

****

Will winked.

****

Okay, maybe it was. Just a little. _Fuck_.

 

"It's almost lunchtime, let's go eat?" Nico gestured in the general direction of the dining pavilion. Gods, was his face heating up? _Please don'_ _t let Will see me blush, please don't let Will see me blush_

****

"Lunch sounds great!" Will caught up to Nico, walking backwards to face him. "Wait! Maybe we could grab some food and have a picnic? That was we could eat together, and not have to be at separate tables. And the harpies wouldn't bother you about taking food, would they?"

****

He tripped but caught himself, grabbing Nico's arm to keep his balance. Nico jerked away, perhaps a bit too harshly. Will's smile only grew. Like he _knew_.

****

_I swear to the gods, I will punch that stupid smirk right off his beautiful face._ Wait- beautiful face? Where the hell had that come from?

****

Nico was in trouble.

****

\---

****

As expected, Nico and Will had little trouble getting the food, the harpies not wanting to make a fuss with the son of Hades. Nico didn't try to be intimidating, it just kind of...worked out that way, but hey, he got food, so he wasn't complaining.

****

Will led them to a clearing in the woods, all soft grass and mossy rocks. "Over here, there's a flat rock we can put the food on."

****

"You seem to know this place really well," Nico said, carefully setting the food on the rock Will had gestured to. Will nodded.

****

"I come here sometimes to get away from everything. I love the way the sun shines through the leaves, it seems so magical." With the way he glanced up through the trees surrounding them, it was clear that Will was quite fond of the place.

****

"Well, it kind of is magical, this is Camp Half-Blood." Nico elbowed Will gently in his side, earning a soft laugh from the other boy.

****

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Will lay down on the grass, closing his eyes.

****

Nico hesitated for a moment before joining him on the ground. "Do you come here often?"

****

Will looked up at him, quirking an eyebrow at his word choice.

****

"I mean. You knew exactly what turns to take on the way here and stuff. Like you're familiar with the route or something. I don't know."

****

Will laughed. "Yeah, I do come here kinda often. This is where I come to get away from the world for a bit. I don't mean to say I don't like camp, I love my siblings and helping people in the infirmary and all that. And you know how much of an extravert I am." Will turned his head to face Nico. "It's just. It's nice to be able to let your guard down sometimes, you know?"

****

Nico couldn't help but sense the vulnerability in Will's expression. It made his heart start somersaulting in his chest uncomfortably. Plus they were really close, so close that if he leaned forward an inch their noses would touch.

****

"I know what you--" Nico started, cutting off as something at the edge of the clearing caught his eye. He sat up quickly, ready to fight whatever monster had happened across the two demigods.

****

"What is it?" Will asked. He propped himself up on his elbows, worry evident on his face.

****

Three little figures were tumbling around in the grass a few meters away. _Are those_ Nico squinted. "Skeleton cats?"

****

They were, indeed, a trio of undead felines, playing along the edge of the shadows cast by the trees.

****

"That's amazing," Will whispered. _There's that stupid smirk again._ "They kind of remind me of you"

****

"How so?"

****

"Death-y, but still completely adorable"

****

If Nico thought he was blushing earlier, he was most definitely blushing now. This time, no way to hide his face as Will's intense gaze held on to his own.

****

"Shut up. Um. I bet I can get to the top of that tree faster than you."

****

Will looked over at the tree Nico was pointing at, then back to Nico himself. "I thought you said you weren't built to climb trees, di Angelo."

****

"Whatever, Solace, I had a lot of time on my hands while you were gone"

****

"It's been ten days, how much could have happened in ten days?" Will asked, repeating what Nico had said to him not even an hour ago. He was smirking again and Nico swallowed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wow can you believe it's been a whole week since this fic went up? (i think i'm funny)
> 
> hi, i'm grace, the new co-author!
> 
> enjoy <3

* * *

 

_  
_

_  
_

_Okay, this isn’t so bad…_ Nico thought to himself. He wasn’t as skilled as Will, but having done it once before certainly took away some of the difficulty. He pulled himself up onto the next branch, stopping for a moment to appreciate his progress. He’d gotten to the tree first, giving him a slight head start, and he hadn’t fallen behind Will yet.

 

“You’re doing pretty well there, Death Boy,” Will commented. Nico smiled at the compliment. “If you didn’t hate going outside so much I’d say you’ve been practicing.” The smile turned to a frown as Nico tested his footing on the next branch. Deeming it safe, he continued up the tree.

“You know me too well, Solace.”

 

Nico focused in on the climb, trying to make good on his challenge. He worked his way up the tree as quickly as he could, but his efforts unsuccessful. After another minute, Will was at the same level as him, and yet, looking into intense blue eyes, Nico couldn’t find it in himself to care.

 

“How far are we planning on going? You know we can’t actually go to the top, the branches get too weak.”

 

“Oh.” Nico hadn’t thought that far ahead, he’d just needed to think of something else to focus Will’s attention on. “Um. I didn’t realize that. I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s not a big deal, di Angelo.” A smirk flirted around the edge of Will’s lips, turning up the corners of his mouth as if to say they knew something Nico didn’t. “We could stay right here if you like, the branches seem good for sitting, and the view is pretty nice.”

 

Nico glanced around. The scenery was nothing remarkable, but pretty nonetheless.

 

Will sighed, mumbling something that sounded a lot like _that’s not what I meant_ , but Nico couldn’t be sure. He did, however, happen to catch Will’s eye roll. “What?”

 

Will shook his head. “It’s nothing. Come here, let’s sit.” He’d settled comfortably onto the base of a branch, and was now swinging his legs around to face Nico, gesturing to another one right in front of him.

 

Nico made his way to the branch in question, sitting as close to the trunk as possible. Will propped his feet up next to him, leaning forward slightly on his knees. His face was slightly flushed from the exertion, and, for the first time, Nico could see the freckles that resided across his nose.

 

“I take back what I said about you not being built to climb trees.”

 

“Technically, I’m the one who said it. And I’m going to stand by that statement.”

 

Will cocked his head. “What made you want to climb the tree then?”

 

Nico squirmed. “I needed you to stop looking at me like that.”

 

“Huh?” Will was even more confused now.

 

“I… Nothing. Nevermind.” Nico glanced down at his hands. _Get it together, di Angelo._ His heart was racing in his chest, and his breathing felt uneven. He took a few deep breaths, careful not to let Will hear how shaky the first few were. They sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the gentle breeze that wove through the trees.

 

“I really did miss you, you know.”

 

“Hm?” Nico’s eyes looked up from where he’d been examining his palms, making eye contact with the other boy.

 

“Earlier. I said I missed you when I was home.” A soft smile graced Will’s features. “It was really nice to see my mom and all, but I’m glad to be back. It felt weird not getting to see you every day, Nico.”

 

Hearing Will say his first name again made Nico’s heart skip in his chest, his blush returning tenfold. He looked back down at his hands. “I. Um. I missed you too.” He glanced back up, his eyes meeting Will’s again. He’d leaned in a bit, and there was a strange softness in his gaze that Nico hadn’t seen before.

 

“It means a lot to hear you say that.” He smiled at Nico, looking at him through thick lashes. His gaze flicked down to Nico’s lips. Nico’s heart stopped almost entirely.  “There’s, uh.” For the first time Nico had seen since they’d defeated Gaea, Will looked nervous. Will took a deep breath. “There’s something I’d like to do. I’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks now. Promise you won’t freak out?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Will shifted forward slowly. Nico could feel the boy’s breath gently disturbing the air in front of him. Will kept leaning in, and Nico couldn’t help but to do the same. Their noses brushed against each other, if Nico tilted his head up _just a bit–_

 

“Is this okay?” Will’s voice was soft against Nico’s lips.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Will’s lips brushed against Nico’s in a featherlight kiss, retreating for only a second before pressing their lips together again, this time more confident. Nico’s heart was beating uncontrollably now, pounding like a timpani against his ribcage. _Oh._ He kissed Will back, moving their lips together carefully. They should have been doing this for ages, why had it taken so so long for him to realize?

 

Will drew back, looking at Nico with wide eyes. “I really like you, Nico. Romantically.”

 

Nico pulled Will back in, resting their foreheads against each other. “...I think I like you too. Romantically.” The smile he received was blinding, Will bringing his hands up to frame Nico’s face. He tried to press their lips together again, but was smiling far too wide to do anything. He settled for just closing his eyes, rubbing their noses together in a gentle bunny kiss.

 

Nico’s heart had fallen back to a slower pace, though it still fluttered with every breath he took.

 

 _This is okay,_ he thought. _This is definitely okay._

 

 

Nico di Angelo had a crush on Will Solace.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> the second half should be up soon (like a week at the most)


End file.
